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because they spend way too much time on Y!A

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"My lazy American students" laments Boston professor who admires Chinese students. Why so lazy?

This Boston Globe article by a college professor complains about the laziness of American students versus highly motivated Chinese, Indian, and other foreign students. Why are American students so lazy compared to those from other...

Chinese and Indian students have to work their *** off because competition in those countries is so high. There are only so many jobs for a billion people, and they know if they don't get their act together they'll get nothing in the end.

But still, i've seen my fair share of lazy students here in china. And there's no shortage kids who quit school and work in a hair salon or restaurant.

Even if chinese students do study harder, there's no apparatus in the chinese education system to allow creative thinking, analytical arguments or even free creativity. They're not allowed to argue with their teacher. They just work to pass exam after exam, that's it. It's a mass production type approach to learning. So the quality of learning is somewhat cut short by the method, no matter how hard the student works.

American students may be considered lazy, but this laziness, and this ability to step back, drink a beer and asses a situation before blindly diving head first into it is a virtue and not so much a hinderance. There have been studies that show the value of taking breaks and diversifying your thought and it's positive consequences. The chinese simply don't believe in that. Especially the parents, they're all killing the chicken to acquire the egg.

A fellow chinese teacher of mine could not even conceptualize playing a western guitar and a chinese erhu together because "the style is not the same". I told him it's called a "jam session" and you don't learn it in textbooks.

Certainly, this is not the case with all American students. Although, I believe that the laziness of some is due to the fact that American children are far more spoiled than children in less developed countries. We have far more opportunities at our disposal and school is not our only option whereas a proper education may be the way out for the youth in underdeveloped countries. They truly understand the importance of a good education because they have seen firsthand what lacking an education means for their people. I agree with the person below me too. lol

@ Arellano, I never wrote that students from less developed countries were the ONLY ones who studied hard. I actually never wrote that the are competitive. Also, I never said that students from developed countries don't study hard.

I strongly feel like it's a generational thing. Everyone trying to keep up with the

Jones'. Very materialistic society these kids grew up in along with helicopter parents or a single parent who is trying to keep it up to support the family. You get worn down as a single part and let some things go. Nobody gave us an education on how to raise these kids but I think that good shall prevail and we have the next generation who is gong to want to learn. hang in their it'll b ok it's not as hopeless as it may seem

This impression is pretty common in US academia these days, particularly in medical and engineering programs, where a large number of immigrant students can be seen, as opposed to say a Classics program.

But, in reality, this statement is not a fair comparison. As a statistician I can tell you this much- your samples need to be comparable to make a fair statement. But, this one is like comparing the speed of a regular family car like an Accord or a Volvo with a Formula 1. The US limits who can immigrate very severely. It was an open immigration country only till the 1920s. At that point, Chinese and other Asians- or anyone not considered "white" under the law were excluded from immigration. Who was "white" varied according to the most recent court decision. Then, in the 60s, this kind of immigration was replaced and "profession based immigration" was introduced. This meant whatever skilled occupations the US had a dearth of workforce in, could be opened to people of all nations for immigration. So, from that time, engineers, doctors, scientists, professors from China, India and other countries started coming to the US. In many cases, in order to get preferential immigration, these immigrants would need to be at the top of their fields globally. Most of the Asian and foreign students that are second generation immigrants would come from such highly skilled fields and studious environments at home and would, in general, have an inclination towards academic achievement and being industrious. In the case of first generation immigrant students, you have to have an excellent academic record to be admitted to a US school that will support your visa application. Often, these students would have been at the top of their class in their countries for a US university to support them. So, whether first generation or second or other generation, these immigrants represented a filtered demographic from other countries- either being themselves of high academic achievement or coming from an environment that promotes and focuses on such achievement. Comparing them with ALL American students in general, is not a fair comparison. They should be compared to their peers. By making such wrong comparisons, we can always conclude American students are lazy. If we compare amongst the students of elite schools, say the Ivy League, where the cream of the US and of the other countries are represented, we often find there is not much disparity. Bottom line: compare apples with apples.

Another crucial factor is the degree of cultural assimilation. Many older cultures such as that of China, Japan and India, insist upon unquestioning obedience to elders and prioritization of duty. The more the foreign roots of immigrant students, the more likely are they to just "jump to the task" than procrastinate for whatever reason. In some cases, such as first generation immigrants on a visa, failure or lack of success in their courses may even lead to expulsion from the US and they would be doubly motivated. Again, this sort of difference between Americans and immigrants too, blurs at the more demanding elite schools, wherever everyone HAS to work very hard.

Why did I mention "open immigration" until the 1920s in the beginning? Just to prove my answer. Such observations about immigrant students being more competitive were not so frequently made, when immigration was based on skin color and just anyone who could get passage to the US, was admitted. But, with "immigration by profession" being the dominant path now, we see the sociological changes, such as the frequent comments about immigrant students being more competitive- and often it seems even true. Just look at the Spelling Bees these days.

Also to correct a previous poster- it is not just immigrant students from "less developed" countries that compete hard. In general students from even developed countries like UK, Germany, France, and Spain, that choose to study here, do in fact do well. Again mainly for the reasons above. You shouldn't have brought in that derogatory phrase anyway- it is no longer allowed in formal publications. Also, to clarify another poster-- jobs are plentiful and college education much cheaper in India and China and their economies have been booming for the last many years that ours hasn't. It is not such a fight for survival over there. The comparative situation is closer to what I said above....

Most foreign students are here on a study visa, if they don't get good grades they get deported back to wherever they're from. US teachers are to blame too, if no one taught geography, math, etc how the hell will you know where Iraq is?

Americans are not lazy. We are also hard working. It our culture, we view things differently. We do perhaps take our freedom for granted, but, we are not lazy. It's how we are portrayed.

I can't speak for Americans, but I will tell you I have had some very lazy Chinese students! :-P

No-ones perfect, stop fighting, you're never going to win.

We no like work no fun.Food ,sex, sleep good